Title time for Columbia Falls

BOZEMAN - Chris King and Devyn Rocker remember being sophomores cheering for the Wildcats from the stands at the state tournament two years ago.

Now the boys are seniors and they're right where that team was - playing in the Class A state championship game.

On Friday night inside a packed Brick Breeden Fieldhouse, the pride of Columbia Falls was just as flawless and every bit as dominant as it has been all along this near perfect season.

The Wildcats dismantled defending state champion Laurel 61-38 in a semifinal victory that avenged a double-overtime loss in last year's tournament and vaulted the boys onto the big stage for the final night of the season.

"I have so many emotions going through me right now. This is crazy," said Rocker, who had eight points and was one of six players to score at least that.

"I've never been able to play in a big game like this and we're about to. It's insane. We're excited."

"We're 32 minutes away from the state title," said King, who had two points and seven rebounds.

"We want to bring one home to the community of Columbia Falls," he added.

The overpowering victory sets up a storybook finale between two of the state's best basketball programs over the last decade, Columbia Falls (21-1) and Dillon (20-2). These two teams have combined to win five of the last eight state titles. They last fought for the championship two seasons ago in Great Falls. The Beavers edged the Wildcats 54-50 in an emotional contest between two towns tied to the late Craig Finberg.

Since that heartbreaking defeat, the Wildcats have been a team determined to get back to this game. Columbia Falls enters tonight having won 41 of the last 45 games. The only defeat in recent memory came against Polson nine contests ago.

"From the start of the season to now they've been very dominant. They've had very few letdowns," Columbia Falls head coach Cary Finberg said.

"These kids have competed from the start to the end. Now we need them to do it for 32 more minutes and if they do that we're going to be in good shape."

The team effort from Thursday's state opener was even more remarkable on Friday. Columbia Falls had a scoring threat in just about every white and blue jersey - senior Nick Emerson scored 12, junior Parker Johnson had 11, junior Austin Barth had 10 and Anthony Correa and Jacob Calderwood each chipped in eight along with Rocker.

"They've got depth. They have a great complement to each other," Laurel head coach Patrick Hansen Jr. said.

"They've got size, they've got quickness, they've got some shooters, they've got some nice post players. They have a nice combination and a good complement to every angle of the game."

Proof was in the details.

Playing without senior standout Kaleb Johnson, who is out with an ACL injury, the Wildcats shot 24-for-46 from the floor, and went 11-for-17 at the free-throw line. A seven-point halftime lead was doubled by the opening minutes of the fourth quarter and the Cat defense just perplexed Laurel, which scored 64 in its opener. The Locomotives managed only 17 points in the second half while the Wildcats kept rolling and scored 26 in the fourth quarter alone.

Finberg has the Wildcats playing in the fifth state championship game in his 15 seasons. Friday's victory hiked his career record to 221-121.

"I'm just proud of the kids," he said.

"This is their opportunity and we'll see what they do with it tomorrow night."

Columbia Falls 14 14 7 26 - 61

Laurel 10 11 4 13 - 38

COLUMBIA FALLS (21-1) - Devyn Rocker 3-3 2-2 8, Nick Emerson 6-12 0-1 12, Chris King 1-3 0-0 2, Parker Johnson 3-7 4-5 11, Austin Barth 3-7 4-4 10, Ronny Gallegos 1-1 0-0 2, Jared Trinastich 0-0 0-0 0, Anthony Correa 4-7 0-3 8, Cale Vukonich 0-0 0-0 0, Brian Marcille 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Kazlauskas 0-0 0-0 0, Jacob Calderwood 3-6 1-2 8. Totals 24-46 11-17 61.

LAUREL (18-4) - Jake McKinney 2-12 5-8 9, Luke Lohof 0-5 0-0 0, Derek Budge 2-7 0-0 4, Bobby Anderson 3-7 2-2 8, David Swecker 3-10 4-5 10, Brandon Kellem 0-0 1-2 1, Eric Benson 0-0 0-0 0, Matt Heidinger 0-0 0-0 0, Jay Dempster 0-1 0-0 0, Zach Cortese 1-2 4-6 6, Brett Thompson 0-0 0-0 0, Logan Foster 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 11-44 16-23 38.

3-point goals - CF 2-8 (Johnson 1-3, Calderwood 1-2, Emerson 0-1, King 0-1, Correa 0-1), Laurel 0-12 (Swecker 0-6, Budge 0-2, McKenney 0-1, Lohof 0-1). Rebounds - CF 35 (King 7), Laurel 29 (Swecker 7). Assists - CF 12 (Emerson 5), Laurel 2 (McKinney 2). Steals - CF 4 (Rocker, Emerson, Barth, Gallegos), Laure 6 (Budge 3). Blocks - CF 4 (Emerson 2, Barth, Correa), Laurel 3 (McKinney 2, Cortese). Turnovers - CF 11, Laurel 10. Fouls - CF 16, Laurel 13. Fouled out - none. Technicals - none.

-----

Butte Central 11 15 9 7 - 42

Dillon 10 17 12 13 - 52

BUTTE CENTRAL - Phil Antonioli 0-0 0-0 0, Jonathan Richards 7-13 0-0 16, Aschan Richards 1-3 2-6 4, Andy Ritter 2-8 0-0 6, Colin Hollow 0-4 0-0 0, Keegan McCarthy 5-11 0-0 12, Zach Kasperick 2-2 0-0 4, Jake Simkins 0-0 0-0 0, Brady Tippett 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-41 2-6 42.

DILLON - J.T. Linder 7-11 3-4 23, Wes Knox 3-7 2-4 8, Monte Folsom 1-3 2-2 4, Chevy Reed 2-4 3-4 8, Austin Williams 0-0 0-0 0, Ben Folsom 2-5 0-0 5, Tyson Reese 1-1 0-0 3, Cache King 0-1 1-2 1. Totals 16-32 11-16 52.

3-point goals - Butte Central 6-21 (Ritter 2-6, McCarthy 2-6, J.Richards 2-7, Hollow 0-2), Dillon 9-19 (Linder 6-10, Reese 1-1, B.Folsom 1-4, Reed 1-2, Knox 0-1, Folsom 0-1). Rebounds - Butte Central 21 (A.Richards 9), Dillon 25 (Knox 4, Linder 4, M.Folsom 4). Fouls - Butte Central 16, Dillon 9. Fouled out - A.Richards. Blocks - Butte Central 2 (A.Richards). Steals - Butte Central 7 (Hollow 4), Dillon 12 (Linder 4). Turnovers - Butte Central 17, Dillon 17. Assists - Butte Central 12 (J.Richards 3, McCarthy 3), Dillon 10 (Reed 4).